Although high school can be a fun and stimulating experience for many, most teens at some point or another get caught up in the logistics of the last four years of their pre-college education. Fresh out of middle school, rising ninth graders often don’t know what to expect of the upcoming year. And though the very idea of high school may seem daunting at times, most everyone gradually becomes acquainted to school life.

“I guess it took a little while to adapt. The first day wasn’t bad,” said junior James Duncan, who admits that school becomes routine after a period of time.

Duncan, who heard about the cross-country team by word of mouth, did not begin running until the summer prior to freshman year. What started off as a bet with his father turned into a commitment to the cross-country team. While Duncan came into high school with no expectations, he recognizes his feelings about the school.

“[The most intimidating part of WJ was the] pressure that the system puts on students to excel in everything,” he said. “The bar is set really high [for achievement] right now.”

As one of the top performing high schools in the county, the WJ community takes pride in the quality of education as well as yielding high test scores. Another important but often forgotten factor of high school is the teachers, who may carry with them increased expectations of their new pupils than what middle school students are used to.

“[I was surprised most] at how unlike middle school it was, really,” said sophomore Coty Novak. “Middle school was easy. You went [there], did stuff, [the teachers] were lenient with you. Here you’re actually expected to do stuff; you have responsibilities and that was the key difference, and that was what I kind of didn’t expect.”

Though high school brings more obligations, it also entitles students to more liberties. At WJ these new found freedoms include open lunch and selection of classes. Novak, an APEX student and a member of the Mock Trial team, acknowledges the increase in both work and independence.

“To quote Spiderman, ‘With great power comes great responsibility’, so I’m glad I have all this freedom, but at the same time, I know that I need all this responsibility to prepare myself for adulthood,” he said.

As a freshman last year, Novak initially expected that high school would lead him to failure, but in reality, his time spent in ninth grade was a positive experience.

Many students at WJ take Honors or Advanced Placement (AP) classes, sometimes starting freshman year. With a generally more relaxed workload in middle school, the amount of work high school students receive can sometimes overwhelm freshmen. Novak added he learned during his freshman year there really is no easy ‘A’, and students should avoid overloading themselves with courses that may be too difficult or entail too much work than they can handle.

“You should take some easy classes to balance out the really difficult, enriching ones that you might also take,” said Novak.

The wide variety of classes from which to choose allows students to personalize their schedules to their needs and interests. But many students are just as concerned with adjusting to high school socially as they are academically.

A native of Canada, junior Renee Lau transferred into WJ at the end of the first semester during her freshman year. As a new student, Lau said that one of the most difficult parts of her freshman year was adjusting socially.

Her message to new students: “Don’t be afraid to talk to people. Be friendly, don’t be shy, [don’t] blend in with the background kind of thing. Be friendly, be talkative, [be] outgoing.”

Despite the belief that high school, namely freshman year, marks the start of the heavy workload for students, Lau offers different insight.

“[Expect] fun. [Freshman year is] not difficult,” she said. “You shouldn’t expect lots of work, and being [overloaded] with homework and stuff. Just have fun, get to know people, get used to the school.”

Freshmen just beginning their high school careers often don’t stop to think about one day being a senior, yet alone college applications. But even though freshmen have a restricted look ahead into the future, seniors can look back to their past, back to when they were the freshmen class. Senior Catherine Maloney remembers her first day of high school.

“[It was] terrifying yet exciting,” she said. “I just remember it being chaos, and I had no idea where any of my classes were.”

Maloney recalls that the most shocking part of her freshman year was the size of the seniors.

“Being a little baby freshmen, the senior boys seemed like grown men,” said Maloney. “The seniors were so intimidating.”

Now that she is a senior, Maloney looks back on her freshman year as a learning experience. As a result, she has become better at balancing her schoolwork with social activities.

“Freshman year I always left things until the last minute.  That definitely did not go well,” she said.

Maloney now spaces out her homework load accordingly, particularly on the weekends. She tries to complete two or three subjects Saturday morning and then do work for the remaining classes on Sunday night, leaving her weekend evenings free.

And though Maloney considers her first year of high school to be a beneficial journey, she does have one regret.

“I regret not running for class officer,” she said. “Who knows if I would have won, but I wish I had been more involved especially with things like the homecoming hallway and getting my class pumped up.  Maybe I could have changed our class spirit.”

To some, freshman year can go by quickly and without conflict. But to others, the road to sophomore year may be rockier. Maloney encourages the freshmen class to stay on their teachers’ good sides and avoid procrastination. She adds that many students do have a rough freshman year, but that school only gets better as they get older.

Just over a month ago, the freshmen class of 2015 walked down high school halls for the first time. With nine months of school until June, they have plenty of time to find their own niche in the WJ community before their next adventure: sophomore year.